24 hours to Death
by Deathofme
Summary: Oneshot. The last 24 hours leading up to Horatio's death.


**A/N** My first foray into Miami, this one-shot is kind of long but I couldn't bring myself to chop it up. I think this could turn into a '24 hours' series, so look out for that. Slightly Horatio/Calleigh. Please review.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

24 hours before Death

Horatio looked at himself in the mirror as he was brushing his teeth, getting ready to go to bed. He was usually neat and prim but today he'd let his five o'clock shadow get away with him. He'd shave it in the morning.

He pulled a wife beater over his head and tiredly climbed into bed. He always worked himself too hard, and he rarely got enough hours of sleep, usually looking through case files at his home office, but today he felt particularly exhausted, as if the whole world was yawning with him, draining him of his existence.

He dreamt.

He dreamt he was sitting in a dirty warehouse, tweakers cooking crystal meth all around him. One of them called him the Tin Man and he was confused, because Raymond was the Tin Man, but he saw his face and it was not his own. He looked to his right and he saw Yelina and she was reciting Pablo Neruda's 'La Muerta' and repeating that bewitching line,

_Mis pies querran marchar acia donde tu duermes_

And then her eyes turned green, a most bewitching green and she was not Yelina anymore but Calleigh, and Calleigh put her fingers to her lips and said,

"Don't scream."

_I'm not screaming..._

But he was, he was screaming and screaming and then--

Horatio woke up in a cold sweat.

* * *

15 hours before Death

Horatio carefully shaved the peculiar auburn stubble from his face, and he looked a little more alive, his blue eyes shining out from his fair skin. "You would have made a lovely girl," his brother used to tease, and Horatio smiled, watching the lines crease around his eyes, for he was too old now for that to apply. In just those lines he could see years of his life.

He didn't know why, but he wondered that morning whether you could tell wrinkles like they were life lines on your palms. What did his say? Tracing down the curve of his cheekbone...the path of tears...

He brusquely shook his head and got himself prepared for the new morning.

* * *

13 hours before Death

"Okay team, we've got a dead body outside the Agramont hotel, the vic is a young woman in her mid-twenties, caucasian, blonde and she's been dead just under seven hours."

Calleigh froze.

"Does she fit the profile?"

Horatio nodded grimly,

"She does, so let's work this extra hard, okay guys?"

His team of CSI's nodded and busily got on with the investigation. They processed the crime scene and Horatio wrapped up a few phone calls with Tripp and the feds before joining them. They were working a serial case, and their new vic looked like she was part of it as well.

Horatio sighed. His line of work could be daunting, bad things happened everyday, and murder most foul was always commonplace.

* * *

10 hours before Death

"Talk to me Calleigh."

"The tool marks on her skull are consistent with the rest of the victims. That isn't the interesting part though."

Horatio lifted an eyebrow in interest and leaned his head sideways, to better pay attention to her.

"The ligature marks around her wrists? Well, they aren't just any old ligature marks. They match the tool marks on her skull."

Horatio's eyebrows jumped.

"That is interesting."

Calleigh sighed as she put away the slides under the microscope, and mounted a new slide to examine.

"He's escalating Horatio, getting even crueler with each one."

She looked through the scope, still upset.

"He's not just popping their heads like cherries with his vice grip anymore, now he has to shackle them down with it to do god knows what."

Horatio gently laid an arm around her shoulders with concern, and squeezed. Calleigh sighed and tried relaxing, still tense from her little outburst.

"Hey, hey you'll be fine. We'll catch him Calleigh. We always do."

Calleigh sighed and then graced him with one of her smiles, letting him reassure her. She then cocked an eyebrow in thought and then stood in front of him, facing him and making sure he was looking her in the eye.

"We need to get inside this guy's head, see why he kills these women. Look, I fit the profile, you pretend you're the killer. What reason could you have, to want to kill me?"

Horatio gave her a dismissive smile, awkwardly trying to find something to say but Calleigh cut him off.

"Just think Horatio. If you were the killer, why would you want to kill me?"

Horatio looked at her, looked straight into her green eyes and thought.

"Maybe..."

He racked his brains, still unwilling to put him and herself in a position like that, but she stared on gamely and he forced himself to think. Think, think, why would he want to kill her?

"Don't scream Horatio."

"What?"

His eyes widened with surprise, suddenly his whole vision consumed only by her large, green eyes.

"I said, don't scream it out Horatio."

She repeated with a smirk, and he realized she was just being a little sarcastic, still waiting to get an answer. He nodded and hurriedly suppressed all memory of his dream.

"Maybe that's how I feel closer to you, maybe you remind me of someone from my past, maybe you represent some higher class to me that I feel the need to wipe out, maybe you represent some _lower _class to me that I feel the need to wipe out, maybe it excites me sexually, maybe..."

He looked at her,

"...it means I love you..."

Calleigh nodded, still game and quickly ran those through her mind, her brain working overtime with the case. She thanked him prettily, their relationship had always been very close and amiable, and she returned back to her microscope.

Horatio didn't know why, but today of all days he felt the urge for action. To do or say something desperate, but he kept it in, and walked away from her lab as quickly as possible, trying to shake his dream from his head.

* * *

8 hours before Death

"Very nice work Eric, very nice work."

Horatio and Delko were walking quickly towards the department Hummer and quickly scrambled inside. Delko had finally matched the tool markings to a certain brand and model of vice grip. These grips were manufactured for professional uses and only a few companies bought them that were situated in Miami.

And one of those factories was located right where all the murders had occurred.

Tripp's squad car screamed down the road with backup and the CSI's trailing close behind, Ryan had gotten them the search warrant in record time and they were now all business.

"Miami Dade Police, we have a warrant to search your premises..."

Delko had a special spray bottle with his luminol solution and he sprayed it on all of the vice grips used in the factory. Tripp was organizing a line of workers to retrieve their grips from lockers or locked toolboxes that weren't in plain sight and Horatio was talking with the overseer on who had access to what.

"Horatio, I've got blood."

Horatio walked over, taking off his sunglasses and perched them in the hollow of his throat. He put his hands on his hips and looked at the grip in question.

"Who does this belong to?"

The overseer glanced over and then pointed to one of the workers.

"Trent. Isaac Trent."

* * *

6 hours before Death

"Why'd you do it Isaac?"

"I'm telling you, I didn't kill all those women."

Tripp placed his hands on the table and smirked,

"We've heard guys guilty as sin sing that song before. Why don't you try again?"

Isaac opened his mouth angrily to retort but his attorney held up a hand against his arm, and shook her head no.

"Don't speak."

She turned to Tripp and Horatio, who was looking out the window but was still intensely focused on the interrogation at hand.

"Well, what have you gentlemen got that you can hold my client here?"

Horatio spoke up, slowly turning to face them until his blue eyes bore into Isaac's face.

"We have found blood evidence on your client's vice grip. Our DNA lab confirmed that the blood was a match to Susan Hathaway, who was murdered last night, tool marks on her skull and her wrists."

He was menacing now.

"And I don't intend to just pin you for her murder Isaac, I intend to get you for the four other women you've killed out of cold blood."

His attorney smoothly stepped in, reigning attention away from her client.

"Anyone could have taken Isaac's vice grip and committed those murders, his toolbox is accessible to thousands of other men in the factory. Your evidence is circumstantial and until you can do better, gentlemen, my client and I are leaving."

There was a knock on the door and Horatio nodded, consenting to Calleigh popping her head in for a quick,

"There's some test results you need to look at."

Before quickly exiting again.

The attorney rose,

"Good day gentlemen. Isaac we're leaving."

Horatio smoothly got up and walked forward, cornering Isaac at the door. His attorney looked furious but Horatio gave her a look that told her to calm down and he mirthlessly smiled at Isaac.

"Tell me one thing, off the record."

Isaac grinned, a darker lining to his smile.

"Shoot, lieutenant."

"Why do you kill them?"

"I didn't kill them--"

"Okay, okay humor me. If you _were_ the killer, what reason could you possibly have to kill these women?"

"If I were the killer?"

Isaac looked so amused, he was enjoying every moment of playing with Horatio, and he looked outside the door, significantly looking at Calleigh.

"What reason could I have to, let's say, kill a woman like her?"

Horatio held back in his anger against Isaac for having the gall to bring Caleigh into it, but remained dangerously pleasant.

"Sure."

Isaac looked so smug and self-satisfied, t hat Horatio was sure he'd take the bait but then he did a quick double-take and covered his tracks, still grinning wolfishly.

"i don't know lieutenant, because I don't kill women like her."

His attorney was furious with him now,

"Isaac, not another word!"

He sauntered after his lawyer and whistled jauntily, sucking in his air like he was sucking in and savoring his freedom. Right before he disappeared behind the door he looked back at Horatio.

"Maybe it's love."

And he laughed coldly as he walked away.

Horatio shook with anger as he watched Isaac Trent leave and in an uncharacteristic display of anger he slammed his fist against the door frame. They had to let him walk, they had to let him loose on the streets because their evidence wasn't good enough.

"Damnit."

* * *

5 hours before Death

Calleigh had found the tiniest of tiniest hairs in the wound track of the victim's wrist. It had moved and lodged underneath the torn skin so Alexx's examination hadn't washed it away. Miraculously and very fortunately for them, there was the tiniest of skin tags attached to the end of the hair.

If it matched Isaac Trent, then their evidence wouldn't be circumstantial anymore. They could place Trent with Susan Hathaway and they could also place Trent in a struggle with Susan Hathaway. It would be enough to put him in a holding cell and give them enough time to build a strong case against him for trial.

But, oh, DNA took so long.

Calleigh had given the sample to Ryan to work, and he was busy duplicating the cells and building a sample large enough for them to be able to run tests on. It was tedious work and it took hours upon hours.

Horatio felt stuck, and he hated that feeling. He didn't know why, but this whole day he had been feeling off, and stuck, and like he needed to do or say something, scream to the world that he was alive, but that was ridiculous. He kept up his calm demeanor, but the strain of the day wore on him, and his anxiety over the case was obvious to his team. They were all feeling it.

"Are we close yet Mr. Wolfe?"

Ryan looked up at him sympathetically and silently shook his head.

"Sorry H."

Horatio looked at the clock and sighed.

"You know what Mr. Wolfe? I think we've all logged enough overtime for this week. Go home and get some rest if you want."

Ryan smiled but shook his head, still looking through the microscope.

"No sir, I'm not leaving until I run this sample."

He looked up and frowned a little in concern.

"I think you should take yourself up on your own offer though Horatio, you look beat. I'll call you when the results get back in, alright?"

Horatio felt all the cares and worries of the world on his shoulders and he felt so very weary, and surprised himself when he waved off Wolfe.

"It'll be night shift by then, they're working the case too. If we match it to Trent get the night team to hunt him down. Just...call me early in the morning if you please Ryan."

He nodded,

"Okay, good night Horatio."

"Night."

* * *

1 hour before Death

Horatio felt a little disoriented. It was pitch black outside, but inside the 24 hour pharmacy, everything was impossibly bright. The shiny floors were bright, the walls were a bright white, and it seemed every surface reflected the fluorescent bulbs. He groaned a little inwardly, thinking he should have brought his sunglasses along with him.

A little scruffy, which was unusual of him, he walked over to the counter to get his prescription for sleep medication. He found it particularly difficult to sleep that night and after hours of lying awake he finally dragged himself out to the drug store.

The girl working the counter was young, quite pretty. Her blonde hair swayed to and fro like a shimmering curtain as she went back to get his pills. He thanked her, gracing her with a tired smile and went up to the cash register to pay.

He saw the door to the pharmacy open from out of the corner of his eye and didn't pay much attention to it. He didn't notice anything was wrong until he noticed the cashier wasn't accepting his money, and looked up to see a look of frozen horror on his face. He was looking towards the pharmaceutical counter.

Horatio's head whipped back to see Isaac Trent caressing blonde hair and holding a gun to the counter girl's head. She was weeping, her eyes wide with terror and Isaac looked up and grinned at Horatio.

When the hell did he get a gun?

"Isaac,"

Horatio's voice was calm and steady. He slowly walked towards them.

"Isaac, don't do it. Don't do it."

"Not another step lieutenant, or I'll blow her brains out."

"Look, this was just an unfortunate coincidence okay? Isaac, put the gun down, for godssake, put the gun down and let her go."

Isaac laughed,

"Why should I? You're not on duty, you don't have your gun, you don't even have your badge with you. What can you do to me, huh?"

Isaac pointed the gun at Horatio, leveling it at his head.

"It looks like I'm in charge here right now lieutenant. So, listen very carefully to what I have to say."

"Isaac, let her go, this isn't worth it Isaac, think."

"Not another fucking step closer!"

Things happened very quickly after that. Horatio ducked and skidded towards the counter on the ground, surprising Isaac, and his first round was way off and hit the glass door of the pharmacy, tripping the alarms. He fumbled with the gun, cocking it, and Horatio leapt over the counter and tore the girl out of his arms.

Isaac pointed the gun at the girl, hoping to win back some power over Horatio, but Horatio grabbed his arm and pulled it back, his next round hitting one of the lights, the alarm sirens wailing the whole time. Snarling, Isaac re-cocked the gun and Horatio tried to tackle him down, smashing his hand and hoping to disarm him.

Isaac wriggled and as Horatio tried to pin his arms behind his back, he fired the gun at Horatio's abdomen, causing him to cry out. Horatio saw through a red haze of pain, and with anger and adrenaline he smashed Isaac's hand and finally wrestled the gun from him. He saw Isaac wriggle and struggle to his feet and shot him between the eyes.

Isaac dropped down dead, almost comically, flopping like a rag doll, and it was then that Horatio noticed the screaming coming from the counter girl and the alarms and everything rose to a dreadful symphony pounding in his ear and he fell heavily back down to the cold, bright floor.

It was odd, he felt like he had urinated, but the warmth was coming from somewhere too high up and it smelled differently. He clutched his hand to his stomach and heard police sirens. His eyes kept trying to roll to the back of his head uncontrollably and he fought to keep his focus.

He couldn't see properly, he wondered why, it began to confuse him and he blinked several times, hoping the fuzziness would go away.

_Mis pies querran marchar acia donde tu duermes_

_My feet want to walk where you are sleeping..._

He smiled foolishly to himself as the strains of the Spanish poem spiraled through his mind. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head and in vain attempt, snapped them back, struggling to keep his eyelids open.

It was then he saw a very familiar pair of green eyes.

"Horatio, it's okay handsome, we're here, you'll be okay--"

He smiled a little stupidly at her, slowly losing consciousness and he groped for Calleigh's hand, forgetting to apply pressure to his wound, or that his hand was slick with his own blood.

"Calleigh...I...I'm not screaming."

* * *

DEATH 


End file.
